The 40-year-old former PRIDE world champion and UFC tournament winner was wobbled early by Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante but battled back to land his signature right hand and claim Strikeforce’s light heavyweight title.

The bout served as the main event of Saturday night’s “Strikeforce: Feijao vs. Henderson” event, which took place at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, and aired on Showtime.

The win didn’t come easily for Henderson, who was in trouble in the opening frame. After touching Cavalcante on the chin with a stinging right, the Brazilian unleashed his own heavy hands and staggered “Hendo.” But the former Olympic wrestler returned to his roots but dragging “Feijao” to the mat, buying time to regain his with. The veteran move paid major dividends.

In the second, Henderson again relied on his vaunted wrestling skills by working in the clinch, as well as planting Cavalcante on the canvas and grinding away from top position. It wasn’t necessarily aesthetically pleasing, but it changed the momentum of the fight by slowing down Cavalcante, who had been finding some early success on the feet.

In the third, Henderson finally landed his trademark right, or as Showtime broadcaster Mauro Ranallo suggested, unleashed the “H-Bomb.”

With Cavalcante looking to open up on the feet, Henderson landing a shot to the chin that appeared as much grazing blow as direct hit. Nevertheless, the blow sent Cavalcante tumbling to the floor. Henderson immediately pounced with six heavy punches to the temple that sealed the knockout result 50 seconds into the third frame.

Following the win, Henderson said the fight played out exactly as he had hoped.

“I kind of wanted to be real patient in this fight,” Henderson said. “Obviously, I would have liked to have knocked him out in the first minute. He’s a tough guy. … I wanted to be patient, hopefully win each round, and then catch him in that third, fourth or fifth round. That’s about what happened.”

With a career that dates back to 1997, Henderson has racked up a number of wins with his powerful punches, and he said the finishing sequence was vintage “Hendo.”

It’s a punch that I kind of like to do – inside leg kick, overhand right,” Henderson said. “It’s one that I work on all the time. I threw it, landed it and jumped on top. He started to recover, then I landed a couple good punches on top.”

Following a shocking loss to Shields in his Strikeforce debut, Henderson (27-8 MMA, 2-1 SF) has now won two-straight fights. Meanwhile, Cavalcante (10-3 MMA, 3-2 SF) sees a three-fight win streak snapped while becoming the fifth-straight Strikeforce light heavyweight champion to relinquish the title without a successful defense of the belt.

Carmouche controls early, but champ Coenen retains belt

With the odds stacked against her, late-replacement challenger Liz Carmouche threw caution to the wind. It nearly netted her Strikeforce’s women’s welterweight title.

Following a back-and-forth opening round in which the competitors felt each other out on the feet, Marloes Coenen found herself unable to stop Carmouche’s powerful takedown attacks, and the champion found herself on her back often in rounds two and three, defending a non-stop stream of ground-and-pound blows. Coenen, bucked and rolled and kicked her legs high, trying to reverse the position, but Carmouche’s steady base kept her in control of the momentum.

As the fight entered the championship rounds, Coenen’s face was battered an bruised, and she appeared both shocked and confused by the results of the first three frames. Nevertheless, the experience of Coenen emerged in the frame, and with Carmouche confident in top position, the Dutch veteran wrapped her lanky legs around the neck of her opponent and locked in a tight triangle choke. Carmouche squirmed as the hold tightened, but she was trapped and had no choice but to tap.

Despite outstriking her foe 221 to 48 according to a CompuStrike report – including an astonishing 169 punches on the floor – Carmouche was forced to submit 89 seconds into the fourth round.

“I just wish I would have finished right away,” Carmouche said after the bout. “I have room to improve, and I’m going to do that.”

Coenen, who showed obvious relief after the tap, agreed that Carmouche will continue to impress.

“She will be a champion someday,” Coenen said.

Coenen (19-4 MMA, 2-1 SF) defended her belt successfully for the first time and appears likely to meet original opponent Miesha Tate in her next outing. Carmouche (5-1 MMA, 2-1 SF) loses for the first time as a professional, but “Girl-Rilla” undoubtedly earned a legion of new fans with the impressive win.

Kennedy taps Manhoef in first

In a middleweight contender matchup that most MMA pundits viewed as an old-school striker vs. grappler matchup, the strategies for submission-savvy Tim Kennedy and power puncher Melvin Manhoef appeared fairly simple. When the opening bell rang, it was Kennedy who implemented his will.

Following an early missed takedown attempt, Kennedy was forced to stand and trade with the lethal Dutch striker, but he didn’t dally in the position. Kennedy quickly took the action to his preferred domain. Manhoef worked back to his feet briefly, but Kennedy immediately deposited him back on the floor and took mount. “No Mercy” bucked and rolled, but the ground game remains his Achilles’ heel, and Kennedy locked in a fight-ending rear-naked choke with relative ease, forcing Manhoef to tap.

The finish came at the 3:41 mark of the first frame.

Kennedy (13-3 MMA, 4-1 SF) rebounds from an August 2010 title loss to Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza and keeps himself on the short list for a future shot at the belt. Meanwhile, the always-exciting Manhoef (24-9-1 MMA, 0-2 SF) proves once again he’s best suited for striking-only contests.

Masvidal whitewashes Evangelista

In a lightweight matchup certain to figure prominently in Strikeforce’s increasingly deep 155-pound division, striking specialists Jorge Masvidal and Billy Evangelista combined for a 15-minute affair heavy on standup action. And while the combatants slowed in the final rounds and earned the ire of the Ohio crowd, Masvidal ultimately earned a clean sweep of the three judges’ cards.

The previously undefeated Evangelista appeared the quicker fighter in the early going, but the bigger Masvidal, who also regularly competes at welterweight, consistently landed the more powerful blows. Evangelista looked to jab and take the fight to the floor, but Masvidal’s takedown defense was generally sound, and his knees in the clinch provided some of the bout’s best blows. Masvidal earned a pair of his own takedowns in the the closing moments of the second frame, and “Gamebred” appeared well on his way to an impressive win.

Evangelista pressed in the final frame, but he was forced to look for a knockout blow that simply wouldn’t come. With a comfortable lead in hand, Masvidal was content to patiently counterstrike for the final frame, and it paid off. At the conclusion of the 15-minute affair, Masvidal was awarded the win, 30-27 on all three judges’ cards.

Masvidal (21-6 MMA, 3-0 SF) claims his first win under the Strikeforce banner since 2008 and will likely earn a high-profile matchup in his next contest for the organization. Meanwhile, Evangelista (11-1 MMA, 7-1 SF) suffers his first official loss as a professional.

Bowling impresses early, survives late scare

One thing is certain: There is no quit in Josh Thornburg. The welterweight was dominated by prospect “Relentless” Roger Bowling from the opening bell, but Thornburg refused to quit and nearly scored a Hail Mary victory at the closing bell.

Thornburg’s troubles started in the opening round when Bowling locked up a guillotine choke. After surviving the submission, Thornburg found himself eating ground-and-pound blows from the wrong end of a crucifix position. When he again found a way to escape and work back to the feet, he was dropped by a Bowling combination. More ground-and-pound action and a rear-naked choke attempt ended the round for Bowling, who looked close to claiming the round with a 10-8 score.

The first round set the tone for the remainder of the contest, and while Thornburg showed great heart throughout, he did little to change the course of the contest – until the final seconds of the third frame.

Down big on the scorecards but facing a tiring foe, Thornburg netted a slam takedown and locked in a guillotine choke. Alas, there was not enough time to capitalize on the hold, and Bowling lasted until the final bell. When the fighters were brought to the center of the cage, Bowling was awarded the clear-cut unanimous decision.

An Ohio native, Bowling said he enjoyed returning home for the win.

“I fought on the West Coast my last few fights and it’s nice to be back here (in Ohio),” Bowling said.

With the win, Bowling (9-1 MMA, 2-1 SF) rebounds from his first professional loss. Meanwhile, after opening his career with four-straight wins, Thornburg (5-2 MMA, 0-1 SF) falls to just 1-2 in his past three fights.

Gurgel, Freeman pick up first-round victories

By now, Brazilian jiu-jitsu ace Jorge Gurgel is used to the critics who wonder why he consistently chooses to stand and bang with his opponents. But perhaps he’s starting to listen.

Gurgel wasted little time in clinching up with opponent Billy Vaughan and latching onto a standing guillotine choke attempt. With Vaughan apparently comfortable enough to look for the takedown rather than working his neck free, Gurgel continued to focus on the choke. The Brazilian dropped to guard and cranked the hold, forcing the stoppage just 44 seconds into the fight.

Following the win, Gurgel said he was most interested in finding out if his new wife, Bellator Fighting Championships female champion Zoila Frausto, was also able to claim victory in her fight at Bellator 35.

“I just got married two weeks ago, and I need to go back and make sure my wife won to make it a complete night,” Gurgel did.

Moments earlier, Frausto had earned victory via decision.

With the impressive win, Gurgel (14-7 MMA, 2-2 SF) snaps a two-fight losing streak. Meanwhile, Vaughan (9-7 MMA, 0-1 SF) loses for just the second time in his past five outings.

Hometown heavyweight Jason Riley looked well on his way to picking up an impressive win after an early flurry dropped his foe. Unfortunately for Riley, Jay Freeman had other plans.

After hitting the deck from an early Riley right hand, Freeman’s opponent allowed him to stand, and he took advantage of the opportunity. A left hand sent Riley crashing to the canvas, and Freeman pounced with follow-up blows that earned the victory just one minute and 52 seconds into the opening frame.

With the victory, Freeman (6-4 MMA, 1-0 SF) improves to 3-1 in his past four official outings. Meanwhile, Riley (9-6 MMA, 0-2 SF) has now dropped three-straight fights, including two bouts under the Strikeforce banner.

Rogers, Whiesel, Kuhner earn early stoppage wins

Outweighed by four pounds at Friday’s official weigh-in ceremony, Ian Rammel appeared the weaker man from moment one of his preliminary-card bout with Brian Rogers. “The Predator” pounced from moment one of the proceedings and floored Rammel twice in the early going. Each time, Rogers backed away and brought his foe back to the feet. The strategy paid off.

In the closing minute of the first round, Rogers again sent Rammel toppling to the canvas with a flurry. However, this time Rogers followed to the ground and pounded away, earning the stoppage with 37 seconds left in the frame.

In middleweight action, Mitch Whitesel took advantage of a failed first-round throw attempt from opponent Marc Cofer to wind up in top position. From there, Whitesel quickly locked up a guillotine choke and torqued the hold to force a quick tap. The end came at the 3:55 mark of the opening frame.

The evening’s first fight saw the previously winless John Kuhner battle back from early trouble to score a second-round technical submission win over first-time pro J.P. Felty.

After fighting from his back for most of the first round, Kuhner was able to work to top position in the second. After unleashing several painful-looking round-and-pound blows, Kuhner (1-2 MMA, 1-0 SF) locked in a triangle choke from mount and rolled to his back to finish the hold. Felty (0-1 MMA, 0-1 SF) battled through the maneuver valiantly but eventually succumbed to the choke and went unconscious with 29 seconds left in the frame.